Lawmakers introduce startup bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at helping startup companies grow through immigration reform and other measures.

The lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, wrote Startup Act 2.0, which would offer green cards for U.S.-educated foreign students who graduate with a master's degree or doctorate in science, technology, engineering or math.

The bill also would:

• Establish an entrepreneur's visa for legal immigrants to remain in the United States, start businesses and create jobs. It would eliminate caps for employment-based immigrant visas.
• Make permanent the exemption of capital gains taxes on the sale of startup stock held for at least five years.
• Enact a research and development tax credit for startups less than five years old with less than $5 million in annual receipts.
• Use federal research and development funding to better support university initiatives to bring R&D to the marketplace more quickly.
• Require government agencies to conduct analyses of rules with an economic impact of $100 million or more.
• Direct the U.S. Department of Commerce to assess state and local policies that aid development of new companies.